UK Books, November

Horror novel about a radio host menaced by fake psychic.
• PS Publishing’s site has this description and order page; a limited edition, and a paperback ARC edition, are also available.
• The Publishers Weekly review concludes: “An undercurrent of black comedy, witty repartee between characters, a magnificent surprise ending, and Campbell’s trademark verbal dexterity all contribute to this novel’s abundant entertainments.”

SF novel, third in a series following Seeds of Earth (2009) and The Orphaned Worlds (2010), in which various human and AI factions battle over the planet Darien and the weapons it contains.
• Orbit’s website has this announcement with quotes from reviews of the earlier books.
• Eric Brown reviewed it for Guardian: “a space opera of mind-bending depth and scope which sets complexly thought-out alien races and chilling cyborg armies against humans riven by competing political philosophies and agendas…”

Horror novel about a London family that moves to a mysterious fishing port village.
• Hodder & Stoughton’s site has this description with a link to a PDF extract.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.

Young adult fantasy novel, second in a trilogy following The Last Dragonslayer (2010), set at a time magic is returning to the world, and concerning a 16-year-old girl who works for an employment agency for sorcerers and soothsayers.
• Hodder & Stoughton’s site has this description with a link to a PDF extract.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides a preview.
• The author’s website is hosting a sleuthing competition through January 2012 — though open only in “Hodder territories”.

Collection of 25 horror stories, presented in two dos ‘volumes’ named “Infernal” and “Devilry”, celebrating the author’s 25th year of writing.
• PS Publishing’s site has this description and order page. A more expensive limited (slipcased) edition, and a less expensive paperback ARC edition, are also available.
• The author’s site has this descripton.

Alternate history SF novel set in 1940s Hollywood, the golden age of “feelies”, in which Clark Gable is a former movie star turned private detective.
• PS Publishing’s site has this description and order page. A more expensive limited (slipcased) edition, and a less expensive paperback ARC edition, are also available.
• Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “MacLeod expertly hits all the hard-boiled beats, delivering the creepy, fascinating, strange, and wholly enjoyable story with a noir melancholy, a keen eye for detail, and plenty of snappy dialogue.”

Fantasy novel, the author’s first novel, set in an empire plagued by a ‘Pattern’, concerning palace schemes to take control once the Pattern affects the Emperor.
• This is the first book in Jo Fletcher’s new line for Quercus Books. The new Jo Fletcher Books site has this description. This is the first edition by a month; the Night Shade Books edition appears November 29th.
• Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review: “Williams’s riveting and intense debut is driven as much by the emotional scars of a ruthless court as by the court’s intrigues.”

Fantasy novel, 9th book in the series “The Wars of Light and Shadow” that began with The Curse of the Mistwraith (1993) and most recently included Stormed Fortress (2007), and first book of “Sword of the Canon” Arc within the overall series.
• Harper’s site has this description.
• The author’s site has this page for the book with an excerpt.
• Amazon UK indicates that a hardcover ‘library’ edition is scheduled for a month following this trade paperback edition.

This UK books page is based on publisher schedules and availability on Amazon UK and publisher sites — for now listing only titles not already available in the US and listed on weekly New Books pages. (Future pages will cross-reference US and UK editions.) Note that titles announced by PS Publishing often appear late, and their publication dates on Amazon UK are apparently not updated following initial listing.

Titles are listed only once they are published; we do not list galleys or advance reading copies.

Locus Online will endeavor to list all significant titles from the principal SF/F and mainstream publishers (omitting for the most part YA, horror, media and gaming ties, and self-published books). Publishers are welcome to alert Locus Online of scheduled titles, but such notice does not guarantee listings; and again, galleys and ARCs are discouraged.

* = first edition
+ = first US edition

Date with publisher info is official publication month.

‘Nominal Publication Date’ is the day of publication, typically as indicated by Amazon.com.

If physical copies have been seen or received, that date is given following the book description.

Theaters remain closed. A few movies have been released on streaming services, but many have been scheduled for later release dates in anticipation of the reopening of theaters on a national level. So film reviewers Josh Pearce & Arley Sorg continue their coverage of select science fiction and fantasy series available on streaming services. Several shows have put out new seasons, such as 12 Monkeys on Hulu and Kingdom on

Past Features

1) Some responses to my “Play some old!” post from Jo Walton and . I do agree with MJH that there is such a thing as nostalgia-as-avoidance-strategy, and that it’s particularly harmful for the writer. I should also say that the post was in part brought about by the imminent closure of London’s bookshop Fantasy Centre, which has provided me with many of my classic sf books over the last

PLEASE SUPPORT LOCUS WITH A DONATION TODAY!

Everyone in the publishing industry has taken a hit during the coronavirus crisis, and that includes Locus. We are a non-profit, and rely on donations and subscribers to stay alive. Now losing our remaining retailers and distributors to the lockdowns, Locus needs your support to keep publishing the high quality reviews, book and community news, and articles you read here. Our online readers (there are a lot of you!) could support everything Locus does, if each reader donated $5 once a year. But only 1% of our audience pitches in. Please consider making your donation today!